Hot Air Balloon Ride

“Let’s go fly a kite, up to the highest height!  Let’s go fly a kite, and send it soaring up to the atmosphere, up where the air is clear! Oh, let’s all, fly a kite!” 

--lyrics from a song that I learned in school that I STILL remember to this day

Though the topic of the day is indeed flying, the object in question is actually a balloon—a very large, hot-air balloon!  Rob and I have decided to not give each other presents for special occasions.  Instead, we find interesting adventures for us to try together.  This is where the hot-air balloon story begins.

I had no idea what we were doing for my birthday surprise but I knew that we were driving West on the 401 to get there.  Rob warned me that it was going to be a little bit of a drive so I just sat back, trying to contain my excitement.  About an hour and a half later, we arrived in London , Ontario . 

Since we were early, we got to see the whole set-up process: spreading the huge balloon out on the grass, setting up the machinery and large basket and inflating the balloon.  It’s quite impressive to see the crew in action.  Next, it’s “all aboard” the basket!  There were twelve passengers in all on our sunset trip (many more than I thought would be up in those baskets when I see the balloons up there!) but there was plenty of room for everyone.  Our “pilot” was very friendly and talked us through the process.  We’d be lifting off momentarily, we’d fly where the wind took us for about an hour and then we’d land in an unsuspecting farmer’s field.  As we fly up in the sky, the ground crew would follow us on land and would let the farmer know in advance that we’d be using his field for a landing pad.

How does one prepare for a hot air balloon ride?  There really isn’t much to do… just make sure that you’re comfortable with flying and that you don’t wear sandals or high heels.  Other than that, making a reservation is all that you really need to do.  Prices range from $195 per person for a weekday morning flight, to $225 p.p. for a weekday evening flight, to $250 p.p. for a weekend flight.  Of course, if you’re looking

You barely realize that the balloon is off the ground as you begin to float up into the air. This really surprised me as I was expecting a take off worse than flying in a plane.  Lift-off in the air balloon feels just like floating.  Once you’re up in the sky, it’s truly amazing to realize that little you is up in the very BIG sky with nothing holding you up there but some hot air and a balloon.  Never once did I feel unsafe or scared—I was loving every minute!  Armed with his camera, Rob was in heaven too!

As we glided over the city, it was interesting to pick out the various landmarks.  Since I spent a big chunk of my life in the city (and my parents still live there), I was trying my best to figure out where we were along the route.  Finally, our pilot informed us that it was time to land.  He was going to set us down in a farmer’s field just off in the distance.  We were instructed to lean back and then forward again once the basket touched down.  Success!  No basket toppling—we landed safe and sound.  Of course, once you’ve landed and disembarked, you become part of the land crew!  Yep, you fold and fold and fold the balloon until there’s no more air in it and help the official crew load everything back up into the van.  

We hopped on board the passenger van that had been following us throughout the ride and headed back to the launch point.  At one point, we pull over to celebrate our flight with a glass of champagne and good conversation.  Apparently, champagne was a common beverage of choice to celebrate balloon flights.  Our guide told us how ballooners would thank farmers for letting them use their fields with a bottle of champagne.  As a toast, the guide recited a poem: 

“May the winds welcome you with softness.

May the sun bless you with warm hands.

May you fly so high and so well that the Gods join you in laugther

And set you gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth.”

In the end, the hot air balloon ride was sensational—a true, once-in-a-lifetime experience for all ages!